In the rolling hills of Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city, Thacienne knew she would excel as a college student—if only her family could afford it.
“As the first born of the family, my parents were worried about my education,” she says. Her parents asked her if she could wait two years before starting college; the family needed time to raise the funds to cover her tuition, which in Rwanda can cost several times the average annual wage. The cost of higher education...
Blog posts tagged with rwanda
I’ve only seen the film Hotel Rwanda twice.
The first time, I was alone on my parents’ couch in small-town Oklahoma. I tend to want to be emotionally prepared for heavy films with difficult subject matter, but when do you ever feel prepared enough to bear witness to such a magnitude of senseless violence and tragedy as what happened in Rwanda?
The answer is never, so I finally just took a deep breath and hit play.... Continue Reading >>
Meet Felicite.
A 45-year-old mother of two, her (and her family’s) livelihood depends on her farm -- just like 90% of the Rwandan population.
That translates to: no crops, no income. Because the sector is deemed to be very high-risk, it... Continue Reading >>
To date, Kiva lenders have made over 7,500 loans (over 60% of them to women) in Rwanda via five local microfinance partners.
... Continue Reading >>
Today, some consider it Africa’s “biggest success story,” but just 19 short years ago the nation was haunted by one of the most horrific genocides in history.
1994 GENOCIDE
Unfortunately, when one thinks of Rwanda perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is its tragic history of genocide. Prompted by decades... Continue Reading >>
In the various travels that led to the book, I was lucky enough to bring a camera to more... Continue Reading >>
Kiva’s newest field partner, Amasezerano Community Banking S.A. is as lovable as its native country Rwanda. And that’s no small statement, because Rwanda could win anyone over—it has endless green hills and an engaged, courageous citizenry.
Rwanda is often seen as an international development success story in process—Kigali’s streets are clean, and the Rwandan population benefits from basic national health insurance. But poverty remains grinding and ever-present. The majority of the population lives below 250 Rwandan francs (about $0.43) per day (CIA World Factbook), and the...
Continue Reading >>Blog posts tagged with rwanda
In the rolling hills of Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city, Thacienne knew she would excel as a college student—if only her family could afford it.
“As the first born of the family, my parents were worried about my education,” she says. Her parents asked her if she could wait two years before starting college; the family needed time to raise the funds to cover her tuition, which in Rwanda can cost several times the average annual wage. The cost of higher education...
I’ve only seen the film Hotel Rwanda twice.
The first time, I was alone on my parents’ couch in small-town Oklahoma. I tend to want to be emotionally prepared for heavy films with difficult subject matter, but when do you ever feel prepared enough to bear witness to such a magnitude of senseless violence and tragedy as what happened in Rwanda?
The answer is never, so I finally just took a deep breath and hit play.... Continue Reading >>
Meet Felicite.
A 45-year-old mother of two, her (and her family’s) livelihood depends on her farm -- just like 90% of the Rwandan population.
That translates to: no crops, no income. Because the sector is deemed to be very high-risk, it... Continue Reading >>
To date, Kiva lenders have made over 7,500 loans (over 60% of them to women) in Rwanda via five local microfinance partners.
... Continue Reading >>
Today, some consider it Africa’s “biggest success story,” but just 19 short years ago the nation was haunted by one of the most horrific genocides in history.
1994 GENOCIDE
Unfortunately, when one thinks of Rwanda perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is its tragic history of genocide. Prompted by decades... Continue Reading >>
In the various travels that led to the book, I was lucky enough to bring a camera to more... Continue Reading >>
Kiva’s newest field partner, Amasezerano Community Banking S.A. is as lovable as its native country Rwanda. And that’s no small statement, because Rwanda could win anyone over—it has endless green hills and an engaged, courageous citizenry.
Rwanda is often seen as an international development success story in process—Kigali’s streets are clean, and the Rwandan population benefits from basic national health insurance. But poverty remains grinding and ever-present. The majority of the population lives below 250 Rwandan francs (about $0.43) per day (CIA World Factbook), and the...
Continue Reading >>